The Birthday Boys

Patched jeans are pretty much de rigueur at Pilsdon

In a community of around 25 people such as at Pilsdon you might expect a birthday every fortnight on average. However there’s nothing very average about Pilsdon and birthdays often seem to come in clusters. This week for instance has clocked up three birthdays - Tuesday was Tarquin’s, yesterday was Fred’s and today is Charles’*. 

Pilsdon celebrates everyone’s birthday the same way. The night before, an announcement at dinner simply reminds everyone to come to Tea and Toast at 4:30pm the following day (Tea and Toast happens every day without fail), without mentioning any names or even that a birthday is about to happen. A card is left semi-hidden in the Aga room where people can scrawl their names and appropriate (or inappropriate) messages.

In the last two weeks we've made about 160 jars of marmalade from scratch.
It'll all get eaten.

On the day itself at 4:30pm the Common Room is fuller than usual and the two young ‘uns are hopping about in a frenzy of anticipation. The other difference, slightly more subtle, is there is less toast on offer than usual.  The birthday boy or girl is trying to act like this is any other Tea and Toast.  If it is winter-time, which it is, the fire is roaring in the hearth and dusk is gathering outside.

Then someone enters the room bearing a magnificent home-made cake with candles lit and the usual song is launched into by everyone. Often the cake has been carefully decorated to reflect some aspect of the recipient’s personality or lifestyle. Tarquin for example is known for his singing ability and his love of performance so his cake assumed the form of a speaker complete with microphone. When he cut into it, I pressed a button on my phone which was wirelessly linked to a real speaker hidden within the cake inside a small tin, causing the cake to burst into life and play an infectious samba tune. His jaw dropped. For a second or two even Tarquin was lost for words.

The cake is then divided up amongst everyone. Woody* our five-year-old makes sure he sits with Charles on what Charles has convinced him is the “Cake Chair”, which somehow entitles both of them to extra-large portions. He’s too busy eating his cake to figure out whether his portion actually is greater than other people’s.

Ice bubbles forming beautiful feathery fronds in a tray in the garden earlier in the week

Each cake is different, and each has an enormous amount of loving devotion to detail lavished upon it. Individuals are made to feel special by the thought that has been put into its creation. The type of cake will be their favourite too as they are asked beforehand what they would like it to be. Charles has asked for a Battenburg cake for this afternoon’s birthday celebration, which I will be unable to eat due to it having almonds in. However I spotted earlier today a piece of cake in the food store with my name on it (see the pic below!) so I don’t think I’m going to go without. Even the non-birthday’ed among us are thought about. Happy birthday indeed!

A cake with my name on it

* All names are made up